Yesterday, we left off looking at the stumbling block that many people have regarding Hell, namely that God would watch people suffer for their sins forever. This sounds neither loving nor forgiving, but cruel and vindictive. Are there any answers to this dilemma? I believe there are.
First of all, we need to understand that God is a complex being. As humans we should be able to understand this because we, ourselves, are complex. Could we possibly be described by just one facet of our personality or character? Of course not. We are not one-dimensional but multi-dimensional and the same is true of God.
Over the past several decades there has been a shift to viewing God as nothing more than love. He is frequently pictured as some quaint, old, grandfather figure who looks the other way at sin, and is always ready to accept people as they are, sin and all. The fact is that God is a very complex spiritual being with many different facets to His personality, and they are displayed very openly on the pages of Scripture. He is loving, yet He also hates. He is forgiving but also unforgiving. He is joyful but He is also angry. His emotions are simply different responses to different people in different circumstances. So God is just as much a God of anger as He is love - not the petty, selfish anger of us humans, but the righteous, indignant anger of a holy God. If we believe that God can love forever we have to accept the fact that He can be angry forever as well.
Secondly, what about the concept of balance? How can we believe that Heaven is forever and not believe that Hell is forever? If people don’t deserve to be punished forever, then why do people deserve to be rewarded forever? Maybe this isn’t a strong argument but I feel that it is an argument nonetheless. If God will not punish the wicked forever, could there also come a time when God says enough is enough, and puts the righteous out of existence as well? If not, why not?
Thirdly, the main issue as I see it, is that we don’t truly understand how God feels about sin. He hates it! He detests it! He abhors it! How can this be stated any more forcefully? The reason why God hates sin is that it is a spiritual cancer that is responsible for every illness and disease, every crime, every broken home, every war, everything that is not perfect in this world. It is the result of human free will that was influenced by Satan himself. God hates sin the way most people would feel about torturing an animal or abusing a child.
Our problem with understanding how much God hates sin lies in the fact that we are sinners - we have been contaminated and conditioned by it. We are so immersed in sin, it is such an integral part of our nature, that we can't see it for how awful and evil it really is. For example, in Proverbs 12:22 it says that "Lying lips are an abomination to the Lord." 'Abomination' is clearly a very strong word. In the NT, Jesus said that those who lie are like Satan, the father of lies. But is any of us absolutely horrified when we, or someone else, tells a lie? Absolutely not! The reason is that since we are so contaminated by sin we don’t see it for how bad it really is. Only when we understand the awfulness of sin (which I don’t think we can, as sin-tainted beings) will we understand God’s actions toward it. Someday, when we are in Heaven, I believe we will. Like the great multitude in Revelation 19:2 we will realize that God’s judgment in punishing sinners for eternity is right and just. We will see sin in all of its wickedness and realize that those who died in their sins need to be dealt with drastically.
First of all, we need to understand that God is a complex being. As humans we should be able to understand this because we, ourselves, are complex. Could we possibly be described by just one facet of our personality or character? Of course not. We are not one-dimensional but multi-dimensional and the same is true of God.
Over the past several decades there has been a shift to viewing God as nothing more than love. He is frequently pictured as some quaint, old, grandfather figure who looks the other way at sin, and is always ready to accept people as they are, sin and all. The fact is that God is a very complex spiritual being with many different facets to His personality, and they are displayed very openly on the pages of Scripture. He is loving, yet He also hates. He is forgiving but also unforgiving. He is joyful but He is also angry. His emotions are simply different responses to different people in different circumstances. So God is just as much a God of anger as He is love - not the petty, selfish anger of us humans, but the righteous, indignant anger of a holy God. If we believe that God can love forever we have to accept the fact that He can be angry forever as well.
Secondly, what about the concept of balance? How can we believe that Heaven is forever and not believe that Hell is forever? If people don’t deserve to be punished forever, then why do people deserve to be rewarded forever? Maybe this isn’t a strong argument but I feel that it is an argument nonetheless. If God will not punish the wicked forever, could there also come a time when God says enough is enough, and puts the righteous out of existence as well? If not, why not?
Thirdly, the main issue as I see it, is that we don’t truly understand how God feels about sin. He hates it! He detests it! He abhors it! How can this be stated any more forcefully? The reason why God hates sin is that it is a spiritual cancer that is responsible for every illness and disease, every crime, every broken home, every war, everything that is not perfect in this world. It is the result of human free will that was influenced by Satan himself. God hates sin the way most people would feel about torturing an animal or abusing a child.
Our problem with understanding how much God hates sin lies in the fact that we are sinners - we have been contaminated and conditioned by it. We are so immersed in sin, it is such an integral part of our nature, that we can't see it for how awful and evil it really is. For example, in Proverbs 12:22 it says that "Lying lips are an abomination to the Lord." 'Abomination' is clearly a very strong word. In the NT, Jesus said that those who lie are like Satan, the father of lies. But is any of us absolutely horrified when we, or someone else, tells a lie? Absolutely not! The reason is that since we are so contaminated by sin we don’t see it for how bad it really is. Only when we understand the awfulness of sin (which I don’t think we can, as sin-tainted beings) will we understand God’s actions toward it. Someday, when we are in Heaven, I believe we will. Like the great multitude in Revelation 19:2 we will realize that God’s judgment in punishing sinners for eternity is right and just. We will see sin in all of its wickedness and realize that those who died in their sins need to be dealt with drastically.
Lord, help me to see You as Your really are, a complex, divine Being who is composed of a number of different attributes, all in perfect balance. Help me to also see sin as You see it - vile, evil and wicked. May I do my best, as You enable me, to live free of sin and walk in righteousness. In Jesus' name, Amen.
No comments:
Post a Comment